Sunni Islamist extremism Canada’s top security threat: Tories

Saying terrorism remained a significant threat, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews unveiled a national counter-terrorism strategy Thursday that put the emphasis on confronting the indoctrination that has led some Canadians to radical violence.

The strategy, meant to guide federal counter-terrorism efforts, identified Sunni Islamist extremism as Canada’s top security threat and committed the government to making communities more “resilient” to the influence of extremist ideologues.

“To succeed, the government’s counter-terrorism efforts cannot be limited to operations directed at groups or individuals already involved in terrorist activities. They must also be reinforced by preventive measures, aimed at keeping vulnerable individuals from being drawn into terrorism,” it read.

But it revealed few details on how the government would accomplish this, and some critics were skeptical. Mubin Shaikh, who infiltrated the Toronto 18 for the RCMP and CSIS, said the Canadian government was far behind its allies and had not yet forged effective links with influential leaders in communities at risk of radicalization.

He said counter-radicalization had to be done by those with credibility in communities, such as imams who could be encouraged to teach the proper meaning of jihad so their followers don’t misinterpret the concept and use it as a justification for terrorism.

The plan of action is Canada’s first concerted attempt to tackle the radicalization that came to light when the Toronto 18 terrorist group plotted to storm Parliament and detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto in 2006, with one member suggesting the attacks be conducted under the name al-Qaeda in Canada.

Since then, a handful of youths have traveled to Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia to join terrorist groups aligned with al-Qaeda, while others were stopped as they were leaving. All appeared to have bought into a conspiracy-driven narrative that claims the West is trying to destroy Islam and that Muslims are required to respond violently.

Mr. Toews’ strategy acknowledged that Canada faced threats from other types of terrorist groups such as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and domestic extremists motivated by white supremacist or anti-capitalist beliefs but noted that “several Islamist extremist groups” had threatened Canada.

Titled “Building Resilience Against Terrorism,” the 36-page paper said Ottawa would address “the factors that may motivate individuals to engage in terrorist activities,” and spelled out four “pillars”: Prevent, Detect, Deny and Respond.

“It will never be possible to stop all terrorist attacks. Nevertheless, Canadians can expect that their government will take every reasonable step to prevent individuals from turning to terrorism, to detect terrorists and their activities, to deny terrorists the means and opportunities to attack and, when attacks do occur, to respond expertly, rapidly and proportionately.”

It added that counter-terrorism would be carried out with respect for human rights, while noting that “security is also a human right” and that terrorism attacks fundamental Canadian ideals of freedom of thought, expression and association.

Farzana Hassan, an author and member of the Muslim Canadian Congress board, said she agreed a counter-terrorism narrative was needed. She said the ideology of armed jihad remained a central issue. “In this day and age you need to distance yourself from it, and I don’t see that happening in a big way.”